Windows App OS — Step 2: Local UI Development

A minimal Windows 11-like desktop environment built on Debian Live + Openbox + Electron.

Architecture

windows-app-os/
├── main.js                    # Electron main process (BrowserWindow lifecycle)
├── preload.js                 # Secure IPC bridge (contextBridge)
├── package.json               # Dependencies & scripts
├── LICENSE                    # MIT
├── src/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── ipc-handlers.js    # IPC wiring for system modules
│   │   └── system/
│   │       ├── network.js     # nmcli wrapper (Wi-Fi scan, connect, disconnect)
│   │       ├── rdp.js         # xfreerdp wrapper (in-memory password, no disk)
│   │       ├── power.js       # shutdown, reboot, logout, sleep
│   │       └── info.js        # /proc filesystem readers (CPU, memory, uptime)
│   └── renderer/
│       ├── index.html         # Main UI entry point
│       ├── css/
│       │   ├── main.css       # Global reset, CSS vars, desktop
│       │   ├── components.css # Buttons, inputs, cards, modals, toasts
│       │   ├── taskbar.css    # Bottom taskbar with clock & app buttons
│       │   ├── start-menu.css # Start menu with search, pinned apps, power
│       │   └── windows.css    # Draggable/resizable app windows
│       └── js/
│           ├── utils.js       # DOM helpers, clock, debounce, toast, event emitter
│           ├── window-manager.js  # Window creation, drag, resize, min/max/close
│           ├── taskbar.js     # Clock, system tray, app button sync
│           ├── start-menu.js  # Search, pinned apps, power menu, app launchers
│           ├── desktop.js     # Desktop icons & background
│           └── app.js         # Bootstrap & keyboard shortcuts

Debian Dependencies

Package	Purpose	Command Used
network-manager	Wi-Fi & networking	nmcli
freerdp2-x11	Remote Desktop	xfreerdp
openbox	Window manager	openbox --exit
systemd	Power management	systemctl

All packages are standard Debian repos. Install with:

sudo apt install network-manager freerdp2-x11 openbox xorg

Quick Start (Development on Debian)

# 1. Install Node.js (if not present)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# 2. Install dependencies
cd "windows-app-os"
npm install

# 3. Run in dev mode (windowed, with DevTools)
npm run start:dev

# 4. Run in kiosk mode (fullscreen, frameless)
npm start

Key Design Decisions

Security

• contextIsolation: true + nodeIntegration: false in BrowserWindow
• All system interaction goes through the preload IPC bridge
• RDP passwords are passed via stdin to xfreerdp — never written to disk
• No remote module, no shell.openExternal with untrusted input

Performance

• Main process never blocks: all system calls use child_process.exec (async)
• System info polling debounced at 10-second intervals
• Window animations use CSS transform and opacity (GPU-composited)
• Module pattern (IIFE) avoids global scope pollution in renderer

Windows 11 Visual Style

• Dark acrylic background: backdrop-filter: blur(20px) saturate(180%)
• Rounded corners (6-20px radius) on all interactive elements
• Subtle border: rgba(255,255,255,0.08) for depth without harsh edges
• Blue accent: #60cdff for interactive highlights
• Taskbar: centered app icons with active indicator dot

Next Steps (Step 3+)

• Terminal: Integrate node-pty for real PTY shell access
• File Explorer: Web-based file manager or Thunar integration
• Notification Center: Sidebar flyout for system notifications
• Debian Live Build: live-build configuration for bootable ISO
• Openbox config: Autostart Electron, hide Openbox decorations